Prices in the Los Angeles area, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), edged up 0.1 percent in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table A.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that the November increase was influenced by higher prices for gasoline. (Data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Accordingly, month-to-month changes may reflect seasonal influences.)

Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U advanced 3.6 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Energy prices advanced 6.9 percent, largely the result of an increase in the price of gasoline. The index for all items less food and energy increased 3.5 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Food

Food prices rose 0.2 percent for the month of November. (See table 1.) Prices for food at home and prices for food away from home both increased 0.2 percent for the month.

Over the year, food prices advanced 2.2 percent. Prices for food away from home moved up 4.7 percent since a year ago, and prices for food at home rose 0.3 percent.

Energy

The energy index advanced 1.9 percent over the month. The increase was mainly due to higher prices for gasoline (5.6 percent). Prices for natural gas service fell 13.3 percent, and prices for electricity decreased 0.2 percent for the same period.

Energy prices advanced 6.9 percent over the year, largely due to higher prices for gasoline (15.0 percent). Prices paid for natural gas service decreased 7.6 percent, and prices for electricity moved down 2.6 percent during the past year.

All items less food and energy

The index for all items less food and energy edged down 0.1 percent in November. Lower prices for apparel (-4.2 percent) and household furnishings and operations (-1.3 percent) were partially offset by higher prices for education and communication (0.1 percent) and medical care (0.1 percent).

Over the year, the index for all items less food and energy increased 3.5 percent. Components contributing to the increase included other goods and services (5.2 percent) and shelter (4.4 percent). Partly offsetting the increases was a decline in apparel prices (-2.6 percent).

Table A. Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County CPI-U monthly and annual percent changes (not seasonally adjusted)

Month	2012		2013		2014		2015		2016		2017
	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
January	0.8	2.1	0.8	2.0	0.5	0.8	-0.3	-0.1	0.7	3.1	0.9	2.1
February	0.5	2.1	0.7	2.2	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.1	0.0	2.4	0.6	2.7
March	1.0	2.0	0.1	1.3	0.6	1.0	1.0	0.5	0.3	1.7	0.3	2.7
April	0.0	1.5	-0.4	0.9	0.0	1.4	-0.1	0.5	0.2	2.0	0.2	2.7
May	0.1	1.6	0.1	1.0	0.4	1.7	1.0	1.1	0.5	1.4	0.3	2.5
June	-0.4	1.6	-0.1	1.4	0.1	1.8	-0.3	0.8	0.1	1.8	-0.2	2.2
July	-0.1	1.9	-0.1	1.3	0.1	2.0	0.7	1.4	0.0	1.1	0.3	2.5
August	0.6	2.3	0.1	0.8	-0.1	1.8	-0.3	1.1	0.0	1.4	0.3	2.8
September	0.4	2.2	0.2	0.6	0.0	1.7	-0.4	0.7	0.2	1.9	0.4	3.1
October	0.8	3.0	0.1	-0.1	-0.1	1.4	0.2	1.0	0.4	2.2	0.4	3.1
November	-1.0	2.1	-0.5	0.4	-0.7	1.3	0.0	1.6	-0.4	1.8	0.1	3.6
December	-0.7	1.9	0.0	1.1	-0.5	0.7	-0.1	2.0	0.0	2.0

The December 2017 Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County is scheduled to be released on January 12, 2018.

 

Technical Note

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change in prices over time in a fixed market basket of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) a CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 89 percent of the total population and (2) a CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) which covers 28 percent of the total population. The CPI-U includes, in addition to wage earners and clerical workers, groups such as professional, managerial, and technical workers, the self-employed, short-term workers, the unemployed, and retirees and others not in the labor force.

The CPI is based on prices of food, clothing, shelter, and fuels, transportation fares, charges for doctors' and dentists' services, drugs, and the other goods and services that people buy for day-to-day living. Each month, prices are collected in 87 urban areas across the country from about 6,000 housing units and approximately 24,000 retail establishments--department stores, supermarkets, hospitals, filling stations, and other types of stores and service establishments. All taxes directly associated with the purchase and use of items are included in the index.

The index measures price changes from a designated reference date (1982-84) that equals 100.0. An increase of 16.5 percent, for example, is shown as 116.5. This change can also be expressed in dollars as follows: the price of a base period "market basket" of goods and services in the CPI has risen from $10 in 1982-84 to $11.65. For further details see the CPI home page on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cpi and the BLS Handbook of Methods, Chapter 17, The Consumer Price Index, available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homch17_a.htm.

In calculating the index, price changes for the various items in each location are averaged together with weights that represent their importance in the spending of the appropriate population group. Local data are then combined to obtain a U.S. city average. Because the sample size of a local area is smaller, the local area index is subject to substantially more sampling and other measurement error than the national index. In addition, local indexes are not adjusted for seasonal influences. As a result, local area indexes show greater volatility than the national index, although their long-term trends are quite similar. NOTE:Area indexes do not measure differences in the level of prices between cities; they only measure the average change in prices for each area since the base period.

The Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA. metropolitan area covered in this release is comprised of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties in the State of California.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Indexes and percent changes for selected periods



Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, CA (1982-84=100 unless otherwise noted)

Item and Group	Indexes			Percent change from-
	Sep. 2017	Oct. 2017	Nov. 2017	Nov. 2016	Sep. 2017	Oct. 2017
Expenditure category
All items	257.890	258.883	259.135	3.6	0.5	0.1
All items (1967=100)	761.921	764.857	765.598	-	-	-
Food and beverages	256.658	255.959	256.382	2.2	-0.1	0.2
Food	257.052	256.111	256.505	2.2	-0.2	0.2
Food at home	255.460	253.154	253.543	0.3	-0.8	0.2
Food away from home	255.150	255.903	256.297	4.7	0.4	0.2
Alcoholic beverages	235.761	238.576	239.398	0.9	1.5	0.3
Housing	289.765	292.390	291.580	3.6	0.6	-0.3
Shelter	333.103	335.768	335.881	4.4	0.8	0.0
Rent of primary residence(1)	351.705	353.494	355.126	4.9	1.0	0.5
Owners' equiv. rent of residences(1)(2)	346.413	347.802	349.187	4.4	0.8	0.4
Owners' equiv. rent of primary residence(1)(2)	346.393	347.782	349.168	4.4	0.8	0.4
Fuels and utilities	305.195	311.873	304.861	-0.1	-0.1	-2.2
Household energy	261.575	270.310	261.185	-3.7	-0.1	-3.4
Energy services(1)	260.165	269.104	259.764	-3.8	-0.2	-3.5
Electricity(1)	290.669	305.746	305.281	-2.6	5.0	-0.2
Utility (piped) gas service(1)	234.905	231.530	200.677	-7.6	-14.6	-13.3
Household furnishings and operations	115.323	116.083	114.541	-0.1	-0.7	-1.3
Apparel	106.412	108.180	103.689	-2.6	-2.6	-4.2
Transportation	201.216	199.790	204.715	7.5	1.7	2.5
Private transportation	197.983	195.800	200.934	8.3	1.5	2.6
Motor fuel	242.911	235.084	248.485	15.1	2.3	5.7
Gasoline (all types)	237.612	229.829	242.785	15.0	2.2	5.6
Gasoline, unleaded regular(3)	238.002	229.964	243.118	15.1	2.1	5.7
Gasoline, unleaded midgrade(3)(4)	228.143	222.150	233.178	14.5	2.2	5.0
Gasoline, unleaded premium(3)	227.211	220.764	232.503	14.6	2.3	5.3
Medical care	476.051	476.461	476.833	2.9	0.2	0.1
Recreation(5)	107.941	108.214	108.176	2.7	0.2	0.0
Education and communication(5)	144.088	144.561	144.767	1.9	0.5	0.1
Other goods and services	416.085	415.032	413.485	5.2	-0.6	-0.4
Commodity and service group
All items	257.890	258.883	259.135	3.6	0.5	0.1
Commodities	177.703	177.190	177.916	3.3	0.1	0.4
Commodities less food & beverages	136.491	136.079	136.892	4.1	0.3	0.6
Nondurables less food & beverages	181.027	180.167	181.792	6.1	0.4	0.9
Durables	92.806	92.836	92.847	0.5	0.0	0.0
Services	329.259	331.604	331.427	3.7	0.7	-0.1
Special aggregate indexes
All items less medical care	248.445	249.457	249.702	3.6	0.5	0.1
All items less shelter	224.951	225.188	225.503	3.0	0.2	0.1
Commodities less food	140.804	140.471	141.294	4.0	0.3	0.6
Nondurables	219.879	219.074	220.181	4.0	0.1	0.5
Nondurables less food	186.488	185.805	187.412	5.7	0.5	0.9
Services less rent of shelter(2)	332.833	334.750	334.144	2.7	0.4	-0.2
Services less medical care services	316.929	319.365	319.211	3.9	0.7	0.0
Energy	250.977	249.477	254.283	6.9	1.3	1.9
All items less energy	260.370	261.559	261.468	3.3	0.4	0.0
All items less food and energy	261.277	262.829	262.656	3.5	0.5	-0.1
Footnotes (1) This index series was calculated using a Laspeyres estimator. All other item stratum index series were calculated using a geometric means estimator. (2) Index is on a December 1982=100 base. (3) Special index based on a substantially smaller sample. (4) Indexes on a December 1993=100 base. (5) Indexes on a December 1997=100 base.
- Data not available NOTE: Index applies to a month as a whole, not to any specific date.